Two 平特五不中 College alumni will address the class of 2022 as Commencement speakers: Nobel Laureate Jennifer Doudna 鈥85 and long-time supporter of the College Stewart Smith 鈥68. Each will be recognized with an honorary degree by the College during the ceremony.
平特五不中鈥檚 129th commencement exercises will take place at 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 15. The ceremony returns to the College鈥檚 Marston Quad after two years of virtual celebrations due to the pandemic.
Renowned Biochemist
Jennifer Doudna鈥檚 groundbreaking development of - as a -engineering technology earned her the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and changed the course of human and agricultural research. She shared the award with collaborator Emmanuelle Charpentier.
Doudna is the first graduate of 平特五不中 College to receive a Nobel Prize.
CRISPR-Cas9 is a powerful technology that enables scientists to change 鈥攖he code of life鈥攚ith a precision only dreamed of just a few years ago. Labs worldwide have redirected their research programs to incorporate this new tool, creating a CRISPR revolution with huge implications across biology and medicine.
平特五不中 College professors and students work in campus labs that use the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing techniques Doudna has pioneered.
In addition to her scientific achievements, Doudna is a leader in public discussion of the ethical implications of for human biology and societies, and she advocates for thoughtful approaches to the development of policies around the safe use of CRISPR technology.
Doudna cites her 平特五不中 education as a key ingredient in her scholarly success. 鈥淚 am grateful to 平特五不中 every day, honestly,鈥 she said in a , 鈥渂ecause it was a liberal arts education that exposed me to so many ideas that I would never have come in contact with, probably, without having attended 平特五不中.鈥
Doudna received her B.A. from 平特五不中 College and her Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School. Currently, she is founder of the and is the Li Ka Shing Chancellor鈥檚 Chair and a Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and of Molecular and Biology at the University of California, Berkeley.
Long-time Supporter of the College
Stewart Smith is an attorney and the co-founder and CEO of Kinsmith Financial Corporation, a family office which since 1979 has provided investment management and financial planning services. In connection with Kinsmith Financial鈥檚 investment activities, Smith has served on the boards of numerous privately held companies.
Previously, Smith served nine years as chair of the Board of Trustees of 平特五不中 College and ten years as chair of the Board of Trustees of the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
His involvement at 平特五不中 started early on in his college career. Smith was sophomore class president and chair of the student judiciary board, as well as a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Pi Mu Epsilon. An economics major and mathematics minor, Smith excelled academically, graduating magna cum laude.
At least nine of Smith鈥檚 family members have attended 平特五不中. His father, H. Russell Smith, 鈥36 served as a trustee and board chair. His daughter MacKenzie (Smith) Teymouri, 鈥09 currently serves on the College鈥檚 Board of Trustees. 鈥淪o it runs really deep in the family,鈥 he said in an interview with in 2017. 鈥淲e bleed 平特五不中 blue.鈥
He has been instrumental in the development of the College. Smith chaired the last capital campaign, Daring Minds, and led searches for the eighth and ninth presidents of 平特五不中. The College鈥檚 Smith Campus Center is named after his family.
Smith received his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School and his B.A. from 平特五不中 College. He and Robin A. Ferracone were married in 1997. She is the founder and CEO of Farient Advisors LLC, a premier executive compensation, performance and governance consultancy.
平特五不中 College鈥檚 2022 Commencement Weekend will take place from Friday, May 13, through Sunday, May 15. For more information, visit pomona.edu/commencement.